| A | B |
|---|
| Louis Armstrong | Trumpeter who brought soloists to the forefront. FLuent grasp on construction of a solo chorus. RHythmic freedom was based on the New Orleans tension between 2 and 4 beats to the measure. "Ambassador of jazz." SUccessful in jazz and popular music genres. |
| Albert Ammons | Boogie-Woogie pianist. Developed template for transferring up-tempo boogie pieces into jazz ensemble repertoire, leaving space for soloists. |
| Austin High School Gang | 5 kids from Austin h.s. in Chicago. First to be influenced by recorded rather than live music. Later became the Blue Friars. |
| Count Basie | Pianist and bandleader. Strong, swinging rhythm section. Improvisation battles within sections. "In the pocket" swing sound. Developed skeleton stride as a piano style. He knew just the right tempi for dances. |
| Sidney Bichet | Clarinet and soprano sax player. First premier sax soloist known for his wide vibrato |
| Bix Biederbecke | "The greatest white jazz musician of the 20s." Influenced by Armstrong, Ravel and Debussy. Member of Jean Goldkette orchestra and Whiteman's orchestra. REcorded important records for Okeh. His band was called the Wolverines. |
| Benny Carter | Arranger who's charts have consistent sense of rhythm and swing. Signature sound of Carter's is an improvised trumpet solo over the saxophone section spreading the chords to all the voices in the section. |
| Charlie Christian | First guitarist who played effectively with amplification. Single note technique. Ran phrases over bar lines which inspired jazz soloists on all instruments to rethink their phrasing. |
| The Dorsey Brothers | Together they varied the mold for what sing bands should sound like. Tommy played Sy Oliver's technically demanding chars and the most rapid tempi of any big band. Tommy's band also added strings to the band to back up Sinatra which started the relaxed ballad style craze of the 1940s. Jimmy invented new fingerings for the clarinet. |
| Duke Ellington | Composer, bandleader and pianist. Wrote many jazz classics such as "It Don't Mean a THing..." First black musician to be treated as an artist. Presented a classy well-rehearsed orchestra. Brought about a transformation of rhythm sections in bigbands. Tailored arrangements to his musicians. |
| Jean Goldkette | Bandleader was the first to use the string bass in a rhythm section of a jazz band. |
| Benny Goodman | Clarinet and bandleader. "King of Swing" One of only whites to play "hot jazz and later presented the first interracial bands to the public. First to play jazz at Carnegie Hall. |
| Coleman Hawkins | Considered the first great tenor sax performer and soloist in jazz. Responsible for transforming the tenor into a fully expressive jazz instrument. Used a slap tongue stule. Played in Fletcher Henderson's band. Recorded the famous, "Body and Soul." |
| Fletcher Henderson | Pianist, arranger, orchestra leader and recording director for the first black recording company called "Black Swan." Arranged for Benny Goodman creating the swing era sound. |
| Earl Hines | First modern jazz pianist. Recorded with Hot Fives. |
| Harry James | Trumpeter and bandleader. Band played up to seven shows a day. Brilliant technique |
| Gene Krupa | First drum soloist to interact musically with others instead of just keeping time. Considered the father of the modern drum set because he invented the tunable tom-toms. |
| Joseph Lamb | Only white man of the 3 main ragtime composers. |
| Meade Lux Lewis | One of 3 great Boogie Woogie Pianists. Played in the "Spirituals to Swing" concert which helped start the boogie woogie craze. He became the first jazz pianist to double on celest and harpsichord. |
| Jimmy Lunceford | Bandleader who invented the Lunceford two-beat which was a two-beat medium tempo swing. Less emphasis on soloists and more emphasis on ensemble. |
| James P. Johnson | "Father of Stride Piano." Important in the transition between ragtime and stride. Composed the "Charlston." |
| Scott Joplin | "King of Ragtime." Most well known ragtime composer of his time |
| Irving Mills | Had publishing company with his brother, Jack. Strong advocate for black musicians and had a large role in promoting Duke Ellington. |
| Jelly Roll MOrton | Pianist and composer. Played in Storyville, New Orleans and had the unique concept of trying to sound like a dixieland jazz band on piano. Later, his sound became known as ragtime. |
| Joe King Oliver | cornetist. Composed several classics such as "Dippermouth Blues. Was a great influence of Armstrong. |
| Original Dixieland Jazz Band | From New Orleans. Polyphonic, front line. Recorded the first Dixieland records. |
| James Scott | Pianist. One of the 3 father of ragtime. |
| Artie Shaw | Clarinetist and band leader. Broke racial barriers by allowing Billie Holiday to sing with them |
| Art Tatum | Developed stride style epitomized by Fats Waller. Technically demanding solos comparable with any demands of classical and romantic keyboard repertoire. |
| Fats Waller | Protege of James P. Johnson. Stride pianist. Composed hits such as "Aint Misbehavin" and "Honeysuckle Rose." |
| Paul Whiteman | Bandleader. Innovative voicings in brass and reed sections. Successful because he developled his approach at the time when big bands were making the transition form the instrumentation of the syncopated orchestra to the big band styles of Henderson and Ellington. |
| Lester Young | Tenor sexophonist. Played with Count Basie. Frequent victor of Basie's improv contests. |
| Jimmy Yancey | ONe of the best boogie-woogie pianists who added a sense of melancholy. Used a variety of left hand patterns and suggested Hispanic or Creole rhythms in his compositions. Expanded the rigid framework of boogie woogie. |
